Car-coupling



No. 619,88l. Patented Feb. 2|, |899. T. FILDES.

GAR DOUPLING.

(Application filed Jan. 19, 189B.)

2` Sheets--Sheet l.

(No Model.)

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N0. .6|9,'88|. Patented Feb. 2 I, |899. T; FILDES.

CAR GUUPLING.

(Application med Jan. 19, laas.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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, UNITED ASTATES THOMAS FILDES, OF

PATENT OFFICE.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION fOlming part 0f Letters Patent NO. 619,881, dated February21, 1899.

Application 'lled January 19, 1898. Serial No. 667,139. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS FILDEs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplers 5 and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andteXact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, whichform a part of this specication.

My invention relates to furnishing improved means for locking acar-coupler.

One objection to the existing automaticcar-coupling devices is thatthere is no assurance that the coupler is locked until a strain is putupon it inasmuch as the locking means are on the inside of thecoupler-head and consequently out of sight. It has therefore been one ofthe objects of my invention to construct a knuckle that would giveexternal evidence that it was' locked, and in addition thereto I haveimproved the knuckle-pin so that it, jointly with the knuckle, forms adouble locking system. 1

In describing my invention I refer to the accompanying drawings, whereinlike letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the differentviews.

Figure 1 shows a side view of my improved coupler with parts broken offand shown in section to illustrate my idea more clearly; Fig. 2, adetail view of the knuckle-elevating pin, shown in a side View at anangle of ninety degrees to the View in Fig. 1, showing the internallocking-pin; Fig. 3, the knuckle-elevating pin; Fig. 4, the same view ofthe knuckleelevating pin as in Fig. 3, with the upper part shown insection; Fig. 5, a side view shown at an angle of ninety degrees to theviews in Figs. 3 and 4; Fig. 6, the double-locking pin; Fig. 7, a detailView of the internal locking-rod; Fig. 8, a side view of Fig. 7 at anangle of ninety degrees; Fig. 9, a top view of Fig. 4. Fig. 10 is adetail view of the knuckle, showing an indent cut out in the tonguethereof. Fig.

pin.

11 is a bottom view of the knuckle, and Fig.

12 is a front view of the coupler and knuckle in the locked position.

In Fig. 1, A indicates the main body of the coupler, B the knuckle, andC the knuckle- This knuckle-pin, which hereinafter will be called theexternal knuckle-pin, is best seen in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, and is, as amatter of fact, the real knuckle-pin on which the knuckle B hinges andaround which it pivots and is furnished with an internal core Dthroughout its entire length, broadening at D and narrowing down at D2.It is constructed in two parts, the upper part E internally screw cut tofit around the externallyscrew-cut part of the lower part F, as seen inthe sectional cut in Fig. 4. The upper part E has two holes G and G',whose function will appear later on in the description. An oblong slotI-I is cut crosswise through the lower part F, which slot of course willintersect the central core D, and an aperture I (see Fig. 4) isfurnished in one side of said knuckle-pin, which is continued throughthe lower part F. (Indicated by the dotted lines I', I2, and I3, as seenin Fig. 5.) Two recesses J' and J2 are furnished in the lower part F,having a hole O piercing the knuckle-pin in the same direction as theslot H.

The middle and narrowest part of the lower part F of the knuckle-pinlies in the knuckle, and the knuckle is furnished with' a bushing B. totake up the wear and strain in the hinge relation which exists betweenthe knuckle and the pin. Passing through the central core D is the rodK, (shown in detail in Figs. 8 and 9,) which rod has two prongs K and K2at the bottom and at the top a head L, said head L resting when inposition in the recess D' in the top part E of the knuckle-pin.

Pivoted in the hole O of the bottom part F of the knuckle-pin is whatIcall the doublelocking pin M, (illustrated in Fig. 6,) said pin having ahole M, through which the pivot passes, and is furnished with an oblongslot M2, through which slot passes a pin M3, said pin M3 being securedin the two arms K' and K2 of the rod K.

The knuckle-locking means mentioned in my preamble as appertaining tothe knuckle itself I shall now describe. The lower lug A of the couple Ais furnished with two or, if necessary, more what might be termedcamteeth P and P2, resembling the teeth in an ordinary friction-clutch.Corresponding to these teeth in the lower lug of the coupler arerecesses in the knuckle. It will now be understood that if an attemptwere made to unlock the coupler-that is, to swing the knuckleoutward-this would be impossible, as the teeth P' and P2 rest in theircorresponding recesses; but if the knuckle be elevated suiciently forthe recesses in the knuckle to clear the teeth then the knuckle willswing outward. This elevating of the knuckle is performed by theknuckle-pin C proper by reason of the lower part F having the enlargedpart 1 inserted in a cavity in the knuckle. The direct agent of theelevating of both knuckle B and knuckle-pin C is the internal rod K.This rod K has at the top, as seen in Fig. 1, pivoted to it a handle Qby a pin Q' and has secured between its two prongs K' and K2, by meansof pin M3, the double-locking pin M. This pin M is, as above described,stationarily pivoted in the hole O in the lower part F of theknuckle-pin by a pivot. It now the handie Q be grasped and elevated, thepin M3 will slide upward in the slot M2, thus bringing the locking-pin Min an approximately vertical position, enough to make it clear thebottom surface of the coupler and disappear inside of the contour lineof the knuckle-pin, so that when the pin M3 has reached the top of theslot M2 it will commence to elevate the knuckle-pin C until the knucklebottom is lifted above teeth I and P2, when it can be swung outward.

When the knuckle is to be closed,it is simply swung back again, and asthe lower edges of the knuckle will be sliding on the inclined surfacesof the teeth on the lower lug the double-locking pin M will, on accountof the obliqueness of its position, incline outward and appearunderneath the bottom lug, as in Fig. l, and will thus, if any upwardmovement on the part of the knuckle-pin caused by a jerk should occur,prevent said pin from being thrown upward, which pin, with its shoulderresting on the top of the knuckle, will in turn prevent the knuckle fromrising enough to clear the cam-teeth on the lower lug of the coupler andpermitting the coupler to open.

In addition to the cam-teeth and recesses al- "readyshown at theknuckle-pin the knuckletongue T can also be furnished with a recess T',into which recess a corresponding camtooth T2 is itted, said tooth T2being cast on or otherwise attached to the coupler at the point in thecoupler where the tongue of the coupler passes in being closed. Thistooth and recess will of course act precisely as the other cam device,so that as soon as the knuckle is lifted and swung outward the recesswill be elevated above the tooth and permit the act of unlocking. Thislatter device will naturally proveitself an additional security in thelocking means and can of course be placed at the most convenient pointbetween the knuckle and the coupler.

The following results will then be seen to have been gained by myinvention: First, by the tooth-and-recess construction between the lowerlug of the coupler and the knuckle and the knuckle-tongue and inside ofcoupler the knuckle becomes self-locking, and, secondly, the knuckle-pinhas by my improved means become double security against the risk of theknuckle by a jolt or jerk of the train springing out of its lockingmeans by my improved doublelocking pin locking the knuckle-pin to theunder side of the coupler.

What I in accordance with the above description consequently claim, anddesire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States, 1s-

l. The combination in a car-coupler of a self -locking knuckle,vertically-faced teeth and corresponding recesses furnished between thelower surface of the knuckle and the lower lug of the main body of thecoupler, a circular recess formed in the knuckle coperating with anolset on the hollow lockingpin, with means for preventing accidentalunlocking of said coupler substantially as described.

2. The combination in a car-coupler ot' Aa self-locking knuckle, themain body of said coupler having a lower lug fitted with `locking meansand cooperating with the knuckle a hollow knuckle-pin consisting of twoparts screwed together resting on the knuckle, a locking rod passingthrough the hollow knuckle-pin and supported therein and beingbifurcated at its lower extremity, with a locking-pin slidingly attachedthereto for the purposes as set forth substantially as described.

3. In the combination in a car-coupler between the self-lockin g knucklefurnished with one or more recesses, and the lower lug of the main bodyof the coupler having teeth fitting into said knuckle-recesses, aknuckle-pin secured in the upper and lower lugs of the main body,resting on the knuckle and having said knuckle pivotally attached to it,an elevatingrod passing through the knuckle-pin and sup ported therein,an obliquely-pivoted lockingpin slidingly secured to the end of saidelevating-rod for the purposes as set forth, substantially asillustrated and described.

4. In the combination in a car-coupler between a self-locking knucklefurnished with one or more recesses, having a bushing tted in theknuckle-pin hole, and the lower lug of the main body ofthe couplerhaving teeth fitting into said knuckle-recesses; a knucklepinconstructed of two parts, an upper, hollow, screw-cut head supporting alocking-pin-ele- IOO IIO

Vating rod, a lower hollow part, screw-out to In testimony that I claimthe foregoing I t the upper part, a looking-pin pivoted obhave hereuntoset my hand this 3d day of 1o liquely in the end of said lower partfurnished January, A. D. 1898.

with an oblonO slot an elevatnU-rod bifur- A `5 cated at the loawer ehdand suppzorting a pin THOS' FILDES' in said bifuroated end which movesin an ob- Witnesses:

long slot of the locking-pin, substantially as F. I. COLLIER,

illustrated and described. SOL RosENBLAT'r.

